Former Bay physician to talk on prostate cancer cure

Tuesday

PANAMA CITY — A men’s prostate cancer support group will host a presentation today about curing prostate cancer using proton therapy.

PANAMA CITY — A men’s prostate cancer support group will host a presentation today about curing prostate cancer using proton therapy.

The local UsToo Emerald Coast Prostate Cancer Survivors invited Romaine Nichols, former medical director at Bay Regional Cancer Center, to conduct a presentation on curing prostate and other cancers with proton therapy. The free event runs today from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Holly Academic Center on Florida State University Panama City’s campus.

Proton therapy is a high-tech form of radiation therapy that allows doctors to target cancer cells precisely and apply higher doses of radiation.

“It offers an extremely high success rate; we’re talking upper 90s” percentile, said Richard Watson, group leader of the local chapter of UsToo. “If I had the opportunity to do it again, I would probably go down that road.”

In 2009, Watson had surgery to remove cancers from his prostate, which was then followed by radiation therapy. With proton therapy available, he’s hopeful for the survival of others who battle the disease.

“It’s extremely precise and has minimal impact on outlying organ and tissue,” Watson said, noting other cancers can be eliminated with proton therapy. “There are some very good results.”

More than 2.6 million men in American are currently living with prostate cancer, according to cancer.gov. Last year 238,590 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer and 29,720 died from it.

WANT TO GO?

- What: Proton therapy: Curing prostate and other cancers with the engineering and technology of protons